The Republican Party of Virginia is
facing criticism after nominating three anti-gay candidates to lead
the state.
The candidates were nominated at the
party's nomination convention held on Saturday.
Ken Cuccinelli, the state's current
attorney general, as expected was chosen as the party's nominee for
governor in 2013. Bishop E.W. Jackson was nominated for lieutenant
governor and state Senator Mark Obenshain for attorney general.
Jackson, a Marine Corp veteran and a
Harvard Law School graduate, is considered the ticket's most
controversial figure for describing homosexuality as “poison,”
comparing Democrats to slave masters and arguing that Planned
Parenthood is more damaging to African-Americans than the KKK.
Last year, in an interview with Peter
LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, Jackson
said that gay men and lesbians have “perverted” minds and are
“very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally.”
“Homosexuality is a horrible sin, it
poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies; it
brings the judgment of God unlike very few things that we can think
of,” he said.
In October, Jackson
criticized President Barack Obama for endorsing gay marriage and
predicted that African-American voters would “overwhelmingly”
vote against the president as a result.